Dam construction



R. R. RANDELL DAM CONSTRUCTION May 1, 1934.

Filed Oct. 5, 1927 Patented May 1, 1934- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 21Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in dams and other structuressubject to fluid pressure; and the objects of my improvements are (1) tomore effectively prevent water or other objectionable fluid fromreaching the main body of the dam or other structure; (2) to lessen orprevent hydraulic uplift on the dam or other structure and thereby tolesson the magnitude of the required crosssection and the volume andcost of the dam or other structure and to increase its factor of safety;(3) to lessen or prevent deterioration of the dam or other structure byfrost action, solution, or chemical or mechanical change due to thepresence of water or other fluid; and (4) to improve the appearance ofthe dam or other structure by lessening or preventing the formation ofefiiorescence on its face due to the action of water or other fluid.

Heretofore the baneful and serious conditions 2CD of leakage,percolation, uplift, frost action, solution, chemical or mechanicalchange, deterioration, disintegration, and effiorescence formation,insofar as these are due to water or other fluids reaching dams or otherstructures of the class described from the reservoir or impounded fluid,or from the foundations, abutments, or surroundings of such dam or otherstructure, have remained largely uncontrolled due to the fact thatefforts at drainage have been limited principally to occasional pipe orwell drains which have usually been spaced several feet apart andbetween which there have remained large areas undrained or imperfectlydrained. Water or other harmful fluid reaching the dam or otherstructure through these areas has produced the serious and detrimentalefiects referred to above. In place of such occasional drains myinvention uses drains which are substantially continuous along twodimensions across the path of leakage or flow. These layer drains, onaccount of their substantial continuity, effectively prevent the ingressof'water or other fluid and the resulting deleterious efiects.

My invention consists essentially of the use, in a dam or otherstructure subject to fluid pressure, of a drain, in this specificationand claims called a layer drain, which is substantially continuous alongtwo dimensions cross the path of the expected leakage or flow, andwhich, over all or a considerable area of its surface, is efiectivelyand more or less uniformly capable of receiving fluid from the adjacentmaterial to be drained. This drain may be of any desired size, shape,thickness, material, posture, and location 55 in the structure. It maybe either substantially open, cellular, or relatively porous, and mayconsist of porous concrete, porous stone, other porous masonry, sand,gravel, crushed rock, other porous material, concrete or other grillageor cells, air space, or other suitable material or arrangement. 0 It maybe of uniform or varying thickness; plane, curved, or warped; and eithervertical, horizontal,

or inclined at any angle. It may either itself extend to an appropriateoutlet or outlets, or it may be connected to such outlet or outlets byopen, 65 closed, pipe, well, porous, or other drains. It may betraversed by struts or supporting members transferring stress through oracross it, or supporting adjacent parts of the structure. It should beunlined unless a lining is necessary to support it or the back-lyingmaterial to be drained, in which case the lining or wall of the drain,which may serve to support either the drain, the backlying material, orboth, should be composed of porous concrete, porous stone, other porousmasonry, or other porous material, so that fluid from the back-lyingmaterial may reach the drain at substantially all points on its surfaceor a considerable area thereof, rather than only at occasional points ofinlet. If the drain or its lining is of porous concrete, the materialmay be prepared by any convenient method or methods of producing a largepercentage of voids in concrete, such as the use of relativelynon-angular, uniform-sized aggregate; little or no sand or fineaggregate; only sumcient cement to produce the required strength; littleor no tamping; or otherwise.

An application of my invention to a concrete or other masonry dam isshown in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a plan of adam; Fig. 2, a downstream elevation thereof; and Fig. 3, a verticalsection thereof on the line 1 1, Figures 1 and 2.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawing, 1 is a comparatively impervious face or water-stop, 2 isa structure supporting the face 1, and 3 is a drain. The face 1 and thesupporting structure 2 may be of any appropriate size, shape, thickness,material, and 100 posture. They' may be either vertical or inclined, andeither of uniform thickness, tapering, arched, or of other shape. Theimpervious face 1 may be plain or reinforced concrete or cement, stone,other masonry, steel, steel im- 105 bedded in cement or concrete, steelimbedded in an asphaltic or other water-proof or waterresistantmaterial, or other suitable material; and it may be either on theoutside surface or in the interior of the dam. The supporting structure2 may be plain or reinforced concrete or cement, stone, other masonry,or other suitable material. The characteristics of the drain 3 are asset forth above. It may be of such size, shape, and disposition as tofulfill also the functions of the supporting structure 2, therebymerging its identity with that of the supporting structure 2, the latterbeing therefore eliminated as a separate individual element, and theentire supporting structure 2 acting also as a part of the drain 3. Thedrain 3 presents a substantially continuous face to water leaking fromthe reservoir past the face 1, or coming from theadjacent foundations orsidewalls toward the supporting structure 2. All such water is thereforeintercepted and removed by the drain 3, and the harmful results referredto above are thereby avoided and the objects of my invention as setforth above attained.

My invention may in similar manner he em-.

bodied in other types of dams and in other struc tures of the classdescribed, in which cases the element corresponding to the imperviousface 1 may be of plain or reinforced concrete or cement, stone, othermasonry, earth, steel, steel imbedded in cement or concrete, steelimbedded in an asphaltic or other water-proof or waterresistantmaterial, wood, or other suitable material; and the elementcorresponding to the supporting structure 2 may be of plain orreinforced concrete or cement, stone, other masonry, earth, crushedrock, or other suitable material.

I claim:

1. In a dam, the combination of a relatively impervious face, asupporting structure, and a porous layer drain located between andbonded to said face and said structure.

2. In a dam, the combination of a relatively impervious face, asupporting-structure, and a porous layer drain located between andbonded to said face and said structure; said drain bein adapted todirectly drain saidface substantially uniformly over its adjacentsurface, and to directly drain said structure substantially uniformlyover its adjacent surface.

3. In a dam, the combination of a relatively impervious face, asupporting structure, and a porous concrete layer drain located betweenand bonded to said face and said structure.

4. In a dam, the combination of a relatively impervious face, asupporting structure, and an open layer drain between said face and saidstructure; the upstream and downstream walls of said drain being bondedto said face and said structure, respectively.

5. In a dam, the combination of a relatively impervious face, asupporting structure, and an open layer drain between said face and saidstructure; the downstream face of said drain being provided with aporous lining.

6. Inv a dam, the combination of a relatively impervious face, asupporting structure, and an open layer drain between said face and saidstructure; the downstream face of said drain being provided with aporous lining adapted to resist the stresses within it by cohesive bondbetween its constituents.

7. In a dam, the combination of a relatively impervious face, asupporting structure, and an open layer drain between said face and saidstructure; most of the downstream face of said drain being provided witha porous lining through which it is adapted to directly drain thebacklying. material substantially uniformly over its adjacent surface.

8. In a dam, the combination of a relatively impervious face, asupporting structure, and an open layer drain between said face and saidstructure; the downstream face of said drain being lined with porousconcrete.

9. In a dam, the combination of a relatively impervious face, asupporting structure, and an open layer drain between said face and saidstructure; most of the downstream face of said drain being lined withporous concrete through which it is adapted to directly drain thebacklying material substantially uniformly over its adjacent surface.

10. In combination with a dam, a porous layer drain locatedapproximately between the foundation and the body thereof and adhesivelybonded to the adjacent materials.

11. In combination with a dam, a porous concrete layer drainapproximately between the foundation and the body thereof.

12. In combination with a dam, a porous concrete layer drain locatedapproximately between the foundation and thebody thereof and adapted tofunction without hydrostatic pressure materially in excess of thatnecessary to raise the drainage, substantially without frictional lossof head, to an elevation at the downstream face of the darn sufficientto permit it to flow away therefrom by gravity.

13. In combination with a dam, a porous concrete layer drain locatedapproximately between the foundation and the body thereof and adhesivelybonded to the adjacent materials.

14. In combination with a dam, a porous concrete layer drainapproximately between the foundation and the body thereof; said drainbeing adhesively bonded to the adjacent materials, and being adapted tofunction without hydrostatic pressure materially in excess of thatnecessary to raise the drainage, substantially without frictional lossof head, to an elevation at the downstream face of the dam sufficient topermit it to flow away therefrom by gravity.

15. In combination with a dam, a porously lined open layer drainapproximately between the foundation and the body thereof.

16. In combination with a dam, an open layer drain located approximatelybetween the foundation and the body thereof and provided with a porousconcrete lining.

17. In a dam, the combination of a relatively impervious face, asupporting structure, and a layer drain located between and adhesivelybonded to said face and said structure.

18. In combination with a dam, a layer drain located approximatelybetween the dam and its foundation and adhesively bonded to the materialon each side of it.

19. In combination with a dam, a layer drain approximately between thedam and its foundation, said drain being adhesively bonded to thematerial on each side of it, and being adapted to function withouthydrostatic pressure materially in excess of that necessary to raise thedrainage, substantially without frictional loss of head, to an elevationat the downstream face of the dam sufficient to permit it to flow awaytherefrom by gravity.

20. In combination, a dam adapted to distribute the load carried by itover substantially the entire area of its vertical projection on theearth, and a layer drain insulating the dam from its foundation; eachside of said drain being adhesively and substantially continuouslybonded to the adjacent materials.

adapted to function without hydrostatic pressure materially in excess ofthat necessary to raise the drainage, substantially without frictionalloss of head, to an elevation at the downstream face of the damsufficient to permit it to flow away therefrom by gravity.

RALPH R. RANDELL.

